Typhoon Haiyan Response Fund
Residents walk on a road littered with debris after Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated
Tacloban city in central Philippines. ©Erik de Castro/Reuters, courtesy Trust.org
The Situation
Super Typhoon Haiyan has left widespread devastation to homes, infrastructure and crops after plowing
through the central Philippines on Friday, November 8. With sustained winds of 175 mph, Haiyan is quite
possibly the most powerful storm to hit land anywhere in recorded history. Images, particularly from the
Pacific (eastern) side of central Philippines, are of total devastation. An estimated 9.8 million people –
equivalent to the total number of people in the U.S. State of Georgia – were affected by Haiyan. More
than 2.5 million people are in need of food assistance. Of the 659,268 people displaced across nine
regions, 394,494 have found shelter inside 1,316 evacuation centers. According to local officials in Leyte
province, as many as 10,000 may have died in Tacloban city alone. The number of deaths and injuries are
expected to rise as more affected areas become accessible. Right now, access remains a key challenge as
some areas are still cut off from relief operations. CARE staff report that even a short 8-mile trip can take
six hours.
According to CARE Communications Officer Sandra Bulling, who arrived by boat with CARE’s
emergency response team to Ormoc city before making way by land to St. Bernard in Southern Leyte,
“All the houses along the coast are
completely flattened. Everything is
destroyed. Further inland, about 80
percent of the houses are roofless.
Because of the extent of the
devastation, it’s taking a long time to
get anywhere. People are quite
desperate and are now getting sick due
to the lack of clean water. I talked to a
shop owner who lost everything. He’s
wondering how he’s going to feed his
five children. I also met a little girl,
who was trying to dry out her books.
Her house was totally destroyed. But
there she was, worried about her
school books. It’s the only thing she
Women share an umbrella as they pass the remains of a house.
has left. We are working to get food
©Erik de Castro/Reuters, courtesy Trust.org
and emergency supplies to survivors as
soon as possible.”
CARE’s Response
CARE and our local partners in the
Philippines have conducted
preparedness activities, helped
evacuate families to take shelter in
safe buildings and remain on the
ground to assess community needs
and provide critical assistance,
including temporary shelter, food,
water and hygiene supplies to
survivors. Our initial target is to
reach 150,000 people in 30,000
households in Leyte and Southern
Leyte (shaded on map), and will
build on our existing work with a
consortium of agencies, which
CARE will lead. Our short-term
response will be linked to longerterm livelihood recovery and rehabilitation activities. In the municipality of St. Bernard, for example,
CARE is already working with ACCORD, a local partner, which, prior to Typhoon Haiyan operated with
us to implement disaster risk reduction programs to help people in the area adapt to changing climatic
variables.
Your Support
Given the potential scale of the crisis, CARE has established the Typhoon Haiyan Response Fund.
Contributions to this fund will allow CARE to provide immediate relief and longer-term rehabilitation
support to families and communities affected by the crisis. Your gift will help us position and deploy
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needed supplies and staff, make funds available to emergency-affected communities for immediate
assistance, strengthen our ability to respond to future emergencies, and provide overall program oversight
to ensure the highest-quality response.
Additional details of CARE’s short and longer-term response efforts, as well as the total funding
requirements, will be determined once the assessments are complete. At present, CARE has set an initial
$5 million goal.
Conclusion
CARE has worked in the Philippines since 1949, initially responding to desperate conditions following
World War II by distributing CARE Packages, establishing health units and school feeding programs, and
providing educational and vocational training equipment. In the 1960s, CARE expanded our program to
support the government’s rural development efforts, and included agriculture, school construction and
irrigation, as well as disaster relief and food-for-work rehabilitation programs. Over recent years, our
primary work in the Philippines has focused on disaster risk reduction, working with four partner
organizations on three projects in areas prone to emergencies. Strategies include climate change
adaptation, ecosystem and water management, small mitigation activities, documenting traditional
knowledge, and developing early warning systems and evacuation plans, which have been activated in
times of crisis.
CARE’s emergency response
teams specialize in providing
lifesaving food, water, shelter and
health care. We have more than
six decades of experience helping
people prepare for disasters,
providing assistance when a crisis
hits and helping communities
recover after the emergency has
passed. CARE, which works in 84
countries around the world, places
a special focus on women,
children and other vulnerable
populations, who are often
disproportionately affected by
disasters. Last year our emergency
response and recovery projects
reached nearly 14 million people
in 40 countries.
Villagers evacuate ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Haiyan.
When disaster strikes, CARE needs immediate, flexible funding to allow us to mount a comprehensive
and timely response. Thank you for considering a donation to support these important efforts.
November 11, 2013
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